It Happened on Vashon

My Vashon Island life, chronicled on and off since 2006. Family, friends, travel, open water swimming, chickens, honeybees, foraging, growing stuff, practicing PR. A very good life in a beautiful Pacific NW setting.

Friday, December 29, 2017

Christmas-Birthday 2017

What a beautiful Christmas 2017! Dad flew in Christmas Eve, we hung ornaments on the tree, David went off to work (his side gig) at Bramble House so Dad and I showed up and enjoyed a special tasting menu. We sat at the counter in front of the kitchen and it was great fun. Best part? Snow falling that afternoon into the night for a WHITE CHRISTMAS. Such a great gift! Another of David's feasts followed on Christmas day.

We played tourist, traipsing through Pike Place Market - buying fresh salmon at the priciest place (But totally worth the fanfare, and that fish is fantastic), lunching at Cafe Campagne (a wonderful, former PR client), walking the Bill Spiedel Underground Tour (first and last time- cute but could've been told in 10 minutes, and too much of a cattle walk), showing Dad WA State's proliferation of recreational pot shops on our drive down First Ave toward home.

An attempt to spot whales at Pt. Robinson instead brought us a Steller Sea Lion and plenty of sea birds, I made my first FABULOUS chevre (rookie success!), and we ventured to Ezell's for Dad's fried chicken fix, enjoyed overlooking Lake Washington. We briefly popped over to the Washington Arboretum and found a few things in bloom before I had to take pops back to the airport.

Although we couldn't have all of our family together, nothing diminishes our love for all. There were tears. There were big belly laughs, too. I treasured this visit. I think of our mortality and the stone cold FACT that any one of us could have "our time" come and be done on this earth tomorrow, maybe even today. When that day comes for me or others, I'll have zero regrets.

Oh yeah, I turned 49! Thank you for all the well wishes and to the friends who sent sweet texts. Rounding out this final year of my fab forties, I will be the fittest version of myself as I train for the big team swim a few oceans away (in July). This past year already put me in gear: faster race finishes, a week of swimming with friends in Greece, a few skin swims in cold water, plus a few setbacks just toughened me up more (rehab for vertigo, working through psoas strain, then stupid end-of-year viruses + middle ear infection)! The reader magnifiers keep creeping to greater intensities...but I'm fortunately not clogged with high cholesterol, my blood pressure is awesome, I'm cancer-free and I am strong (in more ways than one). Thank you, God. Life is good.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The early morning dance movement: Daybreaker

My wonderful pal Diana is not only an awesome swimmer, she is a fun, skilled dancer. She invited all of us swimmers to a global -thang- that pops up in various cities that promotes sober, early morning club-style dance (and optional yoga preceding it). I was all in! She and I were the only ones who went from our swim buddies. It was so fun! The theme was winter white, and we did our best. I'd go again. Not sure how I feel about the live musicians playing over the disco, but the rest was really cool! Photos taken by A.J. Apuya photography.

Quick side note for Vashon readers: my white silk tunic was sweaty and smudged by club soot, and I had it dry cleaned via dropping it at the Country Store. It cleaned up like new. Thumbs up!

Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Reconnecting with Friends of Heidi Past

This was yesterday morning in Santa Cruz, CA. A cleansing dip is good for the soul. Nice to be able to take trips like these!

There was an entire 18 years of my young adult life that I rarely had the privilege of traveling (even regionally), connecting with my childhood friends, or just heading off with girlfriends for coffee, a mall crawl, or dancing...without first being heaped a load of name-calling, accusations or insecurity-driven grief. That changed in 2005 when I figured out that this was not normal relational behavior with the help of a counselor, and I made some big changes for the better.

Any future relationship of mine would come with established boundaries: nobody was going to tell me when or where or with whom I could hang out. Nobody was going to make me feel badly for wanting to see a bit of the world, to hang out with my parents/grands as much as I wanted, or just be by myself. I am so fortunate to now have someone who would never question those things to start.

Time passed but I managed to keep all the old friendships that ever mattered. This past month, I've seen a handful of people I haven't seen in more than 25 years! Over the weekend I went to Santa Cruz with my pal Anne and we visited with my friend originally from Boise and another from Coronado. A few weeks ago I met another longtime Boise friend for coffee at Alki. Then at Nordstrom I reconnected with another San Diego friend! There are several more bridges rebuilt lately.

To me it is incredibly validating, and anchoring, to keep open (or reopen) those lines of communication. It enriches life. It's so cool to see the paths in life these people have laid out. Nearly ALL of my friends have grown up to be highly creative, productive, successful, civic and left-leaning, outdoors-loving, musical/artistic people. They walk their talks.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Welcome to the North End; wanna get away?

We have had what feels like months of utility work on 103rd Ave. Just as one utility was wrapping up, along comes a love note from PSE headlined with something euphemistic like "Making Improvements for You," which basically meant, "ALL HELL'S GONNA BREAK LOOSE AGAIN ON YOUR BLOCK, BABY!" This time, Asplundh tree service will trim entangled branches and then new lines will be put in where needed...this is what we gathered from the courtesy letter. This in an effort to thwart outages, of which we've had a couple lately.

Welcome to North End life this fall/winter. You're not missing anything.

Whether it's the existing project or the new one with PSE is anyone's guess, but this entire week, engines and equipment have run ALL DAY LONG with very few moments of ever cutting engines, and it's all just outside our driveway. This while flaggers poised a few hundred yards up and down our road literally govern our comings and goings. Crews start early and sometimes go into the dark. We've seen welding, excavating and -big truck- tow trucks out front. It is a shit show now, hopefully for the greater good!

I suspect just based on the changing of the flaggers that this is the PSE project. Living close to the ferry has a GREAT advantage, but there's also this infrastructure stuff that needs attending. I pay my taxes and am grateful...it's just super lame to work at home with all this NOISE!

Impact Hub in P-Square is where I hold a part-time co-working space; looks like I'll be there a little more in the next few weeks! #serenitynow

Thursday, November 09, 2017

Move-mber: my FUPA prevention program

Anyone else deeply affected by the seasons? November is a tough month for me, living in the Northwest. Colds and flus are spreading around (already got over one!), it's chilly, it's grey, it's dark early and late...just hole-up weather in general. This makes getting outside to swim, or just getting OUT much more of an effort than any other time of the year. I have committed to work out every day of this month, whether it's a swim, gym circuit, hike or dancing. I'm on day 9 and it's been so fun!

So far in the mix: walking five miles, an ecstatic dance session, and multiple pool and gym sessions. Rather than make excuses, I'm burning it up! I'm not willing to "diet" beyond eating sensibly, and we really do eat well. I'm not a snacker, not a binger and refuse to make this month MOO-vember. So alas, MOVE-mber!

My friend recently put the fear of God in me by mentioning her observations of the dreaded FUPA on people. Just the notion of developing a FUPA by being sedentary appalls me. What, you ask, is a FUPA? I don't make this stuff up, folks! Urban Dictionary has a harsher definition, that one really cuts deep. It's basically hanging-out-the-front fat over your pubis. It's usually completely preventable with a little self-control, holding upright posture and regular exercise. My fear is compounded by having a totally non functioning thyroid and being reliant on a moving target dose of levothyroxine to make my organs work and body metabolize as it should.

Vashon Athletic Club has made many improvements and I'm impressed with the changes. Check it out. Move with me. Catch you in motion!

Monday, November 06, 2017

Chanterelle La-la-la!

When the inclination to forage tugs on your shoestrings, you get those boots on and hit the forest floor! It was one of those mornings when the sun peeked out, it was brisk but tolerable, and the fungi had sprung from the earth at our favorite secret spot.

Seventeen pounds of white chanterelles, all from our fair little island. When they're still $20/lb at our market, it feels pretty good to haul in more than $300 worth for the price of getting dirty. Score!

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

My second big, fat Greek swim holiday

When you have the opportunity to pile into a boat with 13 other kindred spirits...halfway around the world...do it! I'm so tired of hearing people make excuses for why they don't GO DO EPIC SHIT. Last December I saved up and bought myself this swim trip to Crete via The Big Blue Swim, and lucky for me a handful of friends and THEIR friends...and a couple UK swim friends all signed on to go. We just had to wait nine months until it was time to swim.

I brought along my New Wave Swim Buoy, which was great for a group to sight on.
The rash guard was probably the smartest thing I brought to prevent sunburn!

Sfakia is a lovely port town on the SW coast of Crete. Unlike other parts of Greece, the hills look barren and austere by comparison. In reality, plenty grows there and many goats roam free. Known for its wild thyme honey, culinary Sfakian pie, local island cheeses and wine and a fantastic bakery...we ate like royalty for very modest prices. Loutro, Marmara and another spot called Akrogiali were favorite villages where we swam to/from and enjoyed.

The Big Blue Swim (www.thebigblueswim.com) expanded its swim excursions to Crete last year. In 2014 I took its Lefkada trip with my pal Anne. How it works is the fee covers the boat/snacks aboard/breakfast/hotel and your swim guide + swim analysis (video'd and reviewed 1:1). I think from British pounds to US it was something like $900 US for six nights - which is awesome. The airfare wasn't that much more. From London there are many charter flights or British Airways into Chania (say Hawn-Yah). Our esteemed guide was a fellow named Noa; we loved him. All the guides were great and they watch over specific speed groups. This trip I was in the fastest "pink" group which is relative to your company on the trip of course!

Three Vashon Islanders on the other side of the world:
me, Martha and Dana in the front row...we swam to this ancient temple.

Trying a moment of Synchro: why not?!

Our group for a week! So much fun. All abilities.

The rhythm of the trip was like this: wake up, pack a swim bag, sunscreen up, chow down brekky, board the sailboat, motor off to somewhere gorgeous, jump off the sailboat, swim 2-3k on the coast (poke into some caves), get back on boat in the deep, motor to a taverna in a village - no booze during lunch of course, get back on boat, do another 2-3k swim, board boat again, go back to the hotel, happy hour (optional), clean up, dine on the waters edge and go sleep like a baby (if you like REALLY STIFF mattresses, that is).

Just gotta say that the food in Crete is second to none. It's wholesome, satisfying, healthy and flavorful! I loved the Boureki (a veggie gratin) so much I replicated the recipe at home and it will become a regular dish for me. Squid, octopus, grilled sardines, spanikopita, dolmadakia, and roast chicken with potatoes just totally dazzled. Even at night our group tended to dine together, alternating the love to different family tavernas (our hotel each night was the same; Xenia Hotel in Sfakia).

Monday, September 25, 2017

Alcratraz Swim #4 - done!

We swam Alcatraz...I did it in a bikini and it was FUN! Although I didn't race like normal, I had a fine time at 43 minutes across and kind of wonder what my time had been if I went full throttle! Next year provides that opportunity, I suppose!

Thank you for our kits and sponsorship, New Wave Swim Buoy!

Feeling strong and grateful for health and fitness in our late 40s!
(The guy could be our son!)

Diana, Rose, me and Kate

Kate, Diana and Rose are all amazing, strong women and we have a blast swimming together. This trip was extra special because I was able to share the weekend with my mom, son Alex, and my "auntie" Dorothy! We'll be back!

I've committed to Kate to join her on her English Channel 2018 relay, so the training continues!

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Alcatraz weekend approaches!

Tomorrow I get on a plane and, once landed, all my worlds collide: me as daughter, mom, friend and swimmer roll into one fabulous, fun-packed weekend with the people and activities I love in San Francisco.

The South End Rowing Club's Alcatraz Swim will be interesting for me. It's my fourth time doing an Alacatraz swim but my very first time doing so with NO WETSUIT...and technically my fourth race this season swimming with a deep core injury (docs are calling this a case of iliopsoas strain) that has been giving me fitful sleep since June 30 and limiting my ability to walk--or even turn in bed, get out of bed, raise my right leg, etc. PT has not helped--maybe I started too soon or I just need to be patient. I tapered my swimming workouts down a lot this month to help heal up.

Fortunately, swimming only hurts when I really get going and then it stabs under my diaphragm when I grab a breath--that's typically on mile two of my swim workouts. My goal in this, like Waikiki, is to just finish. My past two Alcatraz times have been 45 and 43 minutes, wearing a wetsuit, so if I can do this swim in 50 minutes "in skin" I'll be pretty happy. We shall see! After the shock of cold shakes off I plan to tune out, dig deep and get this done. I visualize completion and celebration.

This is what it looks like from the boat. Notice all the wetsuits!

When we get out of the water is when the real fun begins. My mom and son Alex are both in town for the weekend, and we'll all head to the Arlequin Cafe, pop bubbles and eat like fiends with swimmy pals (to get back those expended calories and rehash our high and low points of the race). Another pal Llorie, I've only seen in 2005 on a work trip, and before that when I was pregnant in Hawaii with Alex, is going to see him for the very first time as a 21-year-old!

Then we sigh, relax, and visit more Sunday. Really looking forward to a fun weekend!

Thursday, September 07, 2017

From Vashon Island to Oahu

This past weekend my husband David and I took a short trip to Waikiki. The timing was right: he had the week off work, we had a companion fare deal on AK Airlines and there was the famous Waikiki Roughwater Swim on Labor Day this year!

The humidity hangs thick like a velvet curtain when you first land on Oahu. It's easy to forget about, being so far from it. We took a (total ripoff) taxi ride into Waikiki and decided to Uber the rest of the trip. Good decision. We stayed at Hyatt Centric Waikiki, which is a fun boutique hotel in the middle of everything. David remarked that Waikiki reminded him of Vegas, in its built out, luxury retail, commodified way. After living on quiet Vashon for so long, I'm incredibly sensitive to sound at night. The untz-untz of a nearby nightclub and street noise awakened me a lot (even being 12 stories up). David never heard a thing.

This man is an awesome athlete.

David, Brion, me

This is Becky. Met her at the start.
We finished a minute apart.

My brother Brion lives there and has since 1994. He works in construction living a simple life he loves. Same apartment for two decades. Steady as it gets. We had nice visits with him and David surfed Diamond Head with him one day while I chilled out in the sun. The surf was UP on the south shore, which doesn't bode well for the swim. That means the little keyhole channels between the deep water and the shore where you're swimming into are sucking out....which means you are fighting like hell to get back in. Great for getting into the deep, bad getting back. To my delight, David decided to enter the swim as well. One of our Notorious Alki Swimmer friends Randy was in town too, signed up and ready to go! We all met up with the Waikiki Swim Club on a channel practice swim the day before the race (nice people). I pointed out to David the apartment I once lived in (1992-3) at the Hilton long before they became timeshares. So trippy seeing it again. I never took living there for granted, and always hit the beach, and its little gym and pool! On this day, on that beach, strong whitewash took my goggles and cap off a few times. Big surf!

We saw Moina, a resident swim friend, and enjoyed a quick chat riding across town with her to get our race packets squared away. Traffic has really gotten worse in town. Town is also so built out along Ala Moana. Nuts. We had an AMAZING dinner in Kaimuki at 12th Ave. Grill. The food is modern American with some island fare thrown in, and lots of local produce and meats. Service was top notch, too. We could have come back again and again. Carbed up, we got to bed early.

Race day was partly cloudy and the surf died down a little. About 700 swimmers from all over the world gathered to race. About half were not from the islands. There were lots of D1 collegiates and world class athletes in the mix. I signed on to the D group, to avoid being trampled, and hopefully to stick with David. That lasted about 300 yards. With feet and arms all in your face in a mass wave of 150+ others, all you see are bubbles and the toes in front of you. Later I swam alongside someone I thought was David, only to realize it was someone else. I noticed a lot of tidal resistance after the first turn buoy, but the very hardest part was the final leg back into the channel. In between that 1.5 mile stretch of ocean, you really do spread out and it gets damn lonely. I followed the buoys in a line on the sea shelf, although a lot of swimmers stayed 100-200 yards parallel, inside towards shore. I joked with some of the volunteers in the deep, asking for my Pina Colada, before putting my head back down.

Whoops, my Garmin was off until I flipped it on at the first turn buoy.
Started from shore at Kaimana Beach.

I can't make a muscle.

The very last leg was an all-out swim to inch forward (and right) against the current. It was also tugging left, which unchecked, would drag you right over coral shelves. It was then the swimmers began to converge again in pursuit of the keyhole channel to finish (safely). Once out (2 hrs, 5 minutes..not breaking any records on that swim people. HA!), I was overjoyed and overheated, hyperventilating! Straight to the medic tent, got my breath back, and David finished just minutes behind me. Seattle folks did great. There were many more from Puget Sound in that race. About 620 finished the race. I'd do it again.

Because of being centered in Waikiki and car-less this time, we didn't get too social. There are several friends we'll go back and see with a car next time, and there will definitely be a next time!

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Another Birthday Boy

Alex is 21 years old. Wow that happened quickly.

Alexander is 21 today. What I've always loved about Alex is his willingness to speak the truth, despite if it was something we wanted to hear. When he was off to college, he was very open about the things he had tried with peers. He just put it all out there and didn't try to be something he wasn't.

Now graduated from college and working on a return contract, this time to work in China teaching English, he is ready to take on a new challenge while building his mastery of Mandarin (which seems pretty awesome already--from the outside looking in, anyway). From the time he could walk, he would pace the very house he took his first steps. As language followed I would ask him, "Alex, what are you doing?" He'd reply, "I'm thinking...about everything." And he really did. I think the rug had a worn-in trail from his afternoon paces. :)

One of his signature moments was the day he wore a wild, African tribal print button-up shirt to middle school--8th grade. It was a cast-off from my father-in-law and David wasn't interested in it. Ever. But Alex took a shine to it. I was fearful he'd get teased in such a garish garment, but Alex came back from school one day wearing it and said, "Kids made comments on my shirt, but I just smiled and told them I was wearing was the shirt of my people." I howled. Only Alex could think of that. And give no shits. Through his giving no shits he truly defined his own brand of cool. By high school he had a wide and diverse swath of friends.

Happy birthday to my 21-year-old...that sounds so crazy still! But still glad I had those boys in my 20s! I needed the youth to keep up with them. Love you, Alex.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Birthday Boy

Zachary is 19 today. I love this young man more than words can properly convey. It makes me happy to see him working, learning a trade, in love and growing up.

As he matures, things will start to make sense. The parental guardrails that were in place: basic expectations, the consequences for certain actions, and the many rewards and privileges...they were all there for a reason.

What do we want for our kids? For them to have better lives than we did. To realize their full potential. To dare greatly, even if that means failing at first. But, by all means, try.

August is the month we see off-to-college, back-to-school, and first-day-of-school posts on social media. I always think of Zach. He was the social butterfly from preschool on, always wanting to please his peers (and teachers); this was a little human that operated solely on pathos, almost never logos. He loved big and his smile melted hearts. When he didn't get his way, though, watch out; Leo roars. A certain photo of his sit-in protest at the Coronado skateboard shop almost exactly 10 years ago, the oil painting by Heather Morris of his famous sulk, and the apology notes he wrote me in elementary school give me a chuckle from time to time. They are a testament to his passionate soul.

At 19, there will be soaring love, satisfaction from self-discovery, and pain from separation of those you love most. There will be restlessness, a longing to explore, and plans hatching for the next move. Zachary, as you pave your way toward independence, don't forget that your parents--all four of them--love you so very much.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Festival Weekend

Vashon Island's population triples in size on the weekend of its annual Strawberry Festival. That statistic comes from crews roughly measuring the poop out of the rented honey buckets used during the fest, and I'm not joking. So, yeah.

Bettie Edwards was running a good campaign for Vashon's unofficial mayor, and her cause was the Vashon Community Care Center, where she volunteers. In the end another candidate "won" (votes are counted in dollars for each respective cause), but she raised 10K for VCCC. This is the same place where I had rehab for a long lapse of severe vertigo, so when Bettie called last minute to ask if we could roll through the parade in my convertible with the VCCC king and queen in back, I didn't hesitate to jump in.

I also got in a nice visit with my oldest son, some longtime friends, met more of my fellow VOV deejays and its board members, and learned how to get scratches and scuff marks off the bumper of my shiny white car (since some jack-hole left the scene of their crime in the IGA lot). Of course no note. That would be too civil. So, thanks to youtube, a microfiber cloth and some gritty toothpaste, I have mastered what every used car salesman already knows--buff it out, keep going, be patient, and you might just get things back to pristine!

I hopped a plane that same night to San Diego for another celebration, to see my uncle play in the 50th anniversary of his Coronado band, West Coast Iron Works. This visit meant a lot to my mom. We saw our family friend Dorothy who lives in SF, I had breakfast with my dad, I jumped in freakishly warm ocean water and body-surfed a bit (while lots of tourists got sting ray assaults, apparently), had a Heinz family lunch, popped into a couple boutiques, saw my Kassie, and before you know I was back home for work late Tues.

You never know when or if today's the last day you'll ever live. I'm packing now through early Oct with lots of activities, living life to its fullest. The garden is growing, this incredible community has galvanized our place here and of course, the water keeps calling. Honolulu, SF (for another race from Alcatraz), London, Crete...I'm coming for ya soon!

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Fat Salmon 2017 complete!

Each July in Lake Washington, more than 300 swimmers race a 5k point-to-point course that starts at I-90 under the Day Street Boat Ramp and ends just shy of the 520 at Madison Park Beach. It's a USMS zoned NW championship race that draws out the elite athletes, rounded out by fitness swimmers like me, just trying to edge up on my 2015 time!

The water was warm. It was probably too warm for the wetsuit division for which I registered, but I stuck to it. My new sleeveless chafed the heck outta my underarm and shoulders. Hip flexors still ache from kicking, but I shaved 8 minutes off my finish time.

It sucks when swimmers get pulled for not being fast enough at the 2.5-mile mark. Volunteers swoop in on boards and kayaks and nudge people out. In the case of our swim friend Alison, she was having none of that! She was swimming for two at nearly nine months prego and she kept swimming until she finished. Flanked by friends and fellow swimmers, she did it.

Me, Alison and her swim baby, and Waymon

Wendy V. from the island took first in her age group finishing in 1hr 26 min. Nineteen minutes later, I came ashore! The first finisher was 1:05 and the last finisher was 2:20 or so. It felt good to check this race off the list for the year. Next up is Alcatraz unless I find a killer deal to do the Waikiki Rough Water Swim. Meanwhile on Vashon, the jellyfish are back in droves on our shores and they're huge--egg yolks and lion's mane. Lakes sound pretty good right now!

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Home Alone

The nest is totally and officially empty as of this week. Don’t ask me to predict if things will stay this way, but for now, we’re home alone! And it’s peaceful. Healthy. Liberating.

When you share your home, you realize all the quirks of your housemates and vice versa. Some things you don’t want to know: Like how voraciously one eats, or uses enough toilet paper or feminine products to single-handedly kill a rainforest, or accumulates (food/paper/clothing) beyond rational thought, or just talks while chewing food... or doesn’t close their mouth when chewing.

I work at home and my office is in an open space—occupying one of three living rooms, and when I’m at the computer that is a cue to all to keep on walking through (do not take a seat and sigh away the day, throw your things down on the futon or engage me while I’m in the zone!).

It amused me when simple items we bought for ourselves were cannibalized upon move-out by our last roommate, from canned staples (and you bet our pantry was full to start…and gazed upon in admiration by the new resident), to that one, on-hand box of mini pads (I just needed my one full-but-opened box, for when it mattered). The car I let her use she totaled within 8 weeks of driving it...the one I obsessively maintained for 10 years, that was going to last me many more years. Poof. Its replacement is a joke—and the joke is on me and my wallet. Lesson: By extending yourself and your things, the poof can happen.

Then there was the gesture in Dec 2015 to wire that same friend pocket money to her then-resident North Africa via Western Union. The money was never redeemed and I eventually got it back, but some creep got his hands on my WU account and just this week tried to wire cash to Morocco. I have heard about enough smarmy deeds by French Maghreb-type mafiosos to last me forever, but I didn’t think I would also be filing an ID theft case report for myself on top of everything else.

Is it worth it, to share? Absolutely. Would I be less generous moving forward? Doubt it. Through the past six years, this home has been a launch pad for my mom (through grief and knee surgery), an unpredictable uncle, a girlfriend awaiting her partner to move west, and the last, the friend in a rough spot starting life over in her 40s. Yay, space.

In time, we’ll downsize, like all empty-nesters do. We’re exploring a hop over to the cottage in which we’d fix the big house up enough to rent out. For now, we are enjoying a peaceful, predictable, roommate-free living space once again.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Older and faster

In the seven years that I've taken on open water swimming, the race events always have me in awe of the older women (60+) who are absolutely like lightning in the water. They are so inspiring! Last week David and I were in Coronado to celebrate with childhood classmates in what would be our 30th year CHS reunion (I moved, but D graduated there). In addition to lots of events around town and nice family visits, there was a (59th annual) July 4 rough water swim right on Center Beach! I had to be part of it.

I knew two other ladies racing: Brooke, who is the local master's coach, and Phoenix, a long-boarder and swimmer who fears no body of water. I was comforted to have David with me at the start, and to run into both of these women in a sea of 300-ish swimmers. Many were wearing team parkas or under collegiate tents. I was swimming with some serious, humbling competition.

Apprehensions for me: swimming in skin (without the comfort of my wetsuit like in the sound), and racing in the ocean, where the swell bobs gave me a sense of the vertigo I'd just finally shaken after all these months.

Me, Brooke, Rae and another swimmer

Phoenix and me

Phoenix is up front here in the blue top.

You can see the surf.

Done! Seaweed still in the bathing suit top.

One woman who was 68, Tracy, and in town for her 50th high school reunion was the top finisher in her age group and one of the first women in over all. A total bad ass off to compete in Worlds next! To my delight, I swam the course in 29:35 (mile); and yet, I was in the last 25% of finishers- ha! Meaning, what is typically a fine finish time was, with this crowd of D1 (and ex-D1) athletes, just meh. My friends were out just ahead of me by one and two minutes, so I feel super accomplished!

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Messy, mucky, massive (delicious)

When the tides get extreme, that's when delicious things are easier to pluck from the shore. We ate like kings for a week on a variety of clams. We enjoyed sashimi, sushi, fritters and of course, chowder. Lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest!

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Alexander commences

With his laser focus and determination, and the financial support of me, reinforcements from my father, and books and gifts respectively from stepgrands Farah and Lucas, and godparents Sue and Jim, Alexander blazed through college in three very concentrated years. He also spent a chunk of his last academic year in China and came back with a nice command of Mandarin. I'm so proud of him!

This young man has poise, diplomacy, discipline and discretion. To his own admission, he also played and partied as any college student would. I'm glad he struck a balance. I'm also glad he attended the school he truly wanted (Evergreen), one that allowed him to build his own curriculum and jump into deep studies in a seminar style.

I'm not glad for the one dorm mate (who didn't matriculate) that kept eating all of Alex's food using poverty as his defense, or the final flaky "Fiona" wake-n-baker that compelled him to move abruptly (because she intended to move). How you cope with that adversity shows character; he handled all with grace.

At first, in 2014, Alex didn't think he'd have the means to go to a 4-year school. I cashed in a retirement fund to get him started, did a payment plan for tuition, dorm, meal plan...then of course later switched from dorm to paying his rent and making grocery runs (or sending $), handled travel, etc..and it was worth every penny. Alex will cover any future graduate education on his own. For now, he's looking at an English teaching stint back in China and over summer is working near Olympia on an orchard.

To congratulate him, I deposited the remainder of the cash I'd saved for his last quarter and just about fell over when I saw my dad's gift to him. My hope is the rest of his extended family really went big on congratulatory gifts since they were not involved in putting him through school. Alex, you rocked it like the star you are. Congratulations.

Friday, March 31, 2017

Dancehall Reggae Lovah

Since the end of January, I've been volunteering at our island radio station, Voice of Vashon, with a reggae and reggae-hybrid format. Borderlines can be heard via live broadcast on 101.9fm if you're on the island, or voiceofvashon.org anywhere in the world from 1-3p every Thursday!

And if you love reggae, don't miss Clinton Fearon playing live on April 21 (Fri) at the Red Bike at 9p. Get your tickets ($10) here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2897611

Clinton visited the studio this month and did a fun interview on the show. Check it out! If you can't make the show, head to iTunes and get his new album This Morning. It's full of bittersweet yet uplifting songs and you won't be sorry to own it.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Robert E Kelly, you're one of us.

Dude, we've all been there (all work-at-home/telecommuting parents, that is). You just happened to hit the mother lode on an international newscast.

Look on the bright side, you're now THE go-to commentator on Korean political affairs, and lookie there, you're HUMAN. Shit happens. It's okay. Your kids are fabulous and your wife deserves a medal or recruitment to a baseball team with that slide into the safe zone!

Sunday, March 12, 2017

The Pool in the Plastic Bubble

Vashon, bring it on! Work it out, refine the plan, and vote the mother in!

We can use the extra aquatic year-round resource. I'm all in. Thanks VPD, for your consideration to get the county pool operating continuously. Not just for the swim team, but for all of us. My hope is a beautiful and fair compromise can be talked through to make this happen.

About Me

North End Vashon Islander and mom to two awesome young men. Blissfully married to David, the multi-talented avenger. Making my own living, not spending other people's money. Living on Vashon Island, pop 10,000, land of lawyers, naturalists, artists, foodies, and so many backstories. Wanna read some?